Conventional incandescent light fixtures and bulbs have been installed in homes and businesses for many years. The conventional fixture includes a socket that protrudes from the ceiling or wall and that receives an ordinary incandescent light bulb. These fixtures are very inexpensive, and accordingly, are very popular. While finished levels of homes tend to have ornamental globes or covers that surround the light bulb and light fixture, in most basements and modest dwellings the incandescent light bulb remains uncovered.
With these conventional fixtures, the light bulb often extends from the fixture in an exposed, unprotected fashion. Accordingly, a ball or other sizable hard object, may contact the light bulb with sufficient force to break or shatter the light bulb. For example, the light bulb also can be broken by a moving ladder or moving furniture. More significantly, small children often break these light bulbs. A ball, or other play object, thrown by the children hits the light and shatters it, exposing the children to falling glass fragments. This event is very dangerous situation for the persons (children) near the breaking light bulb.
Despite the risk, a large number of these light bulbs remain unprotected either due to cost or inconvenience. For example, some conventional models of light protective devices include protective wire cages for protecting the light bulb, but also require the installation of a new electrical box and base fixture. These types of light protectors are quite expensive and require a substantial amount of work to install. In addition, these light protectors also absorb a fair amount of light, which would have the effect of dimming the room, which is highly undesirable. Finally, these conventional light protective devices are also aesthetically displeasing.
Accordingly, conventional light protective devices for general use in protecting exposed incandescent light bulbs are largely unavailable and/or are quite expensive and awkward to use.